Monday, June 23, 2014

A Hothouse Update

A few weeks ago I wrote about building a hothouse for my hot peppers, (you can read about it here.), and thought it was about time for an update. I've been monitoring three jalapeno plants. One plant I put in the hothouse that I built, one I placed in the commercial hothouse, and the other I left out in the open. They all started out around 8 1/2" tall.

In the first week I noticed the commercial hothouse got way too hot during the day. You couldn't see the plants because of all the condensation on the plastic. I was afraid my plants would burn so I started keeping the front flap rolled up during the day, and closing it at night.

Every couple of weeks I would measure the plants, and I was happily surprised at the results. Here they are after a month. You can see they're all healthy but one plant is definitely bigger than the others. From left to right they measure 10", 11 1/2", and 15".

And here they are today. From left to right they measure 18", 22", and 24". They're starting to flower, and one has peppers growing. Can you guess which plant was left in the open, or in one of the hothouses?

The plant on the left was kept outside in the elements. The plant in the middle was stored in the commercial hot house. This means the plant that has grown the tallest was kept in the hothouse that I built. I'm so proud. Lily, however, doesn't seem to be so excited.